Feb 8
This was to be the day that John was off to see his Dad's side of his family. When he woke he was not feeling very well at all. He attributed this to nerves because he was going to have to drive through some pretty heavy traffic. He was also sad to say farewell to Val and the family. Val made him a piece of dry toast and some tea and he felt a little better and said that he was sure it would pass. However, he still had to visit the bathroom a few more times.
The driver from Enterprise, the rental car company, came to pick him up a little later than agreed but that was ok John thought as long as he could make it to Linda's before dark. It was a cold day with occasional snow flurries and the weather had put the car company behind in their pick ups. The driver, though, was a really nice guy and he had been a London bus driver before retiring. He had driven some of the routes that John had ridden on with his Mum and Dad when he was a small boy: the 47 and the number 1. Of course the driver had driven those routes when John was already in Canada but he was fascinated to hear how the system worked with drivers and conductors being teams who always worked with each other. The driver had, in fact, married his conductor.
Soon they were at the rental depot and John bid his driver farewell and was accompanied into the office by one of the office staff. It turned out to be the easiest and best car pick up he has had. The guy walked him through the whole process quickly and easily, helped to take his luggage to the car and gave him a run through of the controls. The only trouble was that the car was not full of gas. He has to return it with the same amount in it but that is hard to work out when it is only at a quarter tank. It is much easier to fill up when you arrive back.
It was a brand new black Volkswagen Polo (950 miles on the odometer) and it had a lot of bells and whistles. It was a tight little car and felt like it would be very steady on the road.
Then John was off. The driver had told John the easiest way to get to the divided highway from the office. He had pointed out the way to go on the first roundabut, told John to take the right hand side of the next roundabout and then just go straight through all the other roundabouts until getting to the M2.
John followed the instructions but he seemed to be heading in the wrong direction through many, many roundabouts and then out into open farmland. At one point he was right beside Canterbury Cathedral in the middle of town. In the end he pulled over, got out Alan's phone GPS and it said he was going in the right direction.
He arrived at the M2 and zoomed out onto the highway. He found it difficult because all the distances, speed limits and speedometer are in miles not kilometres and he had to look in the rear view mirror on the other side. He heeded Alan's warning not to overtake European trucks in the lane beside them (they have left wheel drive and cannot see cars directly beside them).
Then it started to snow.
The flurries became very heavy. So much in fact that it was hard to see very far down the road. The car's temperature guage said it was 2 degrees Celsius so the snow was not settling.
Then fuel gauge started to beep.
John missed the first service centre and eventually saw a sign for the next one. It said 13 miles. Now 13 miles is a lot further away than 13 km. The fuel gauge was beeping again when John pulled in. He filled up the car and it took 42 pounds to fill it. That is about $70Cdn.
He pulled back out onto the highway and felt more comfortable. He knew he was taking the Dartford Crossing and the signs were plentiful. He had his one pound fifty for the toll ready and followed the signs even when they seemed to be going the wrong way. He only made one mistake, being in the wrong lane to go to the A12 east after passing through the tunnel and a truck driver blew his air horn to complain. For John such a trip in England was a miracle of good directions.
He reached Linda's by 3:30pm and the light was still good. It is a very nice house on a little side street of a small English country village. She welcomed him inside but by now he was really feeling sick. He had a fever and all his muscles were aching. He offered to go to a hotel rather than share whatever disease he had but she would have none of it.
After showing John to his room, a lovely bedroom on the second floor facing the front of the house, she said he could lay down if he wanted and although just arriving he said thank you and did just that. It felt so good after the two hour drive to know he was there and didn't have to worry about finding his way.
He came down in time to see his cousin Alan and his son, Stewart come in. Then Nigel, Linda's husband came home and finally Linda's daughter Rachel came in with her two cute children, Josh, 4, and Bella, 2, and her husband, Nick. The company really perked John up and he started to feel a little better. John had last seen Alan in 1965 because Alan had lived in the US with his wife the last time John was back in the UK. Alan said that he had thought John was bigger than him because John WAS bigger... in 1965! No longer so!
After the company had gone, Linda, Nigel and John sat down to dinner. Linda had cooked a lovely dinner of beef, potatoes, veggies and gravy that was delicious but John's stomach was still feeling very off. Although Linda had only put a little on his plate he still couldn't finish it.
The three had a good conversation after dinner and he learned a lot about the family, and Alan's work. By 9pm though John was really feeling that he needed to lie down badly and he went to bed.
It was a bad night. John could not get comfortable because of his aching body. He could not get the temperature right... first he was too hot and then too cold and then too hot again. It was nothing to do wth the excellent heating system; it was John's body fevering up and down. He tossed and turned all night and he realized that he had a pretty bad stomach flu bug. At one point in the night he contemplated abandoning the blog. But that is a story for tomorrow.
TRB
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Sunday, February 7, 2010
A Day of Reflection
Feb 7
Today was very quiet for John. It was thus a day for reflection and the weather made it perfect for the activity. It was cold, near freezing, with heavy dark overcast and a damp wind that cut right through John. He didn't go out much.
The highlights of the day were a magnificent Sunday lunch cooked by Alan. There was pheasant and chicken topped with gravy, along with so many veggies, Yorkshire pudding and dressing. They had roast potatoes along with carrots, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, swede (a little like turnip but not turnip), cauliflower, and another vegetable that John had never heard of before.
John spent the rest of the day watching a show called Zoo Days about the Chester Zoo. He enjoyed watching the treatment of a little lion cub called Tejas (TAY-JAS) who had been taken of since birth because his Mum had rejected him. Tejas had tendons on hus front legs that were too short to let him walk properly. They put a cast on his front feet and he did very well and didn't even chew off the casts. He is one of only 250 Asiatic lions in the world today. The show followed him from his birth through to growing up and it was the sweetest and happiest story and on this dreary day one that did John good. It was on Channel 5 and they had over four hours of the show on through the afternoon. Tejas has since joined a the breeding programme of a French Zoo.
John also packed for his trip to stay with his cousin Linda and see his Dad's side of the family next week. He is picked up at 12:00 noon tomorrow and after picking up the rental car, we drive to Essex. We will be adding to the blog when we can.
TRB
Today was very quiet for John. It was thus a day for reflection and the weather made it perfect for the activity. It was cold, near freezing, with heavy dark overcast and a damp wind that cut right through John. He didn't go out much.
The highlights of the day were a magnificent Sunday lunch cooked by Alan. There was pheasant and chicken topped with gravy, along with so many veggies, Yorkshire pudding and dressing. They had roast potatoes along with carrots, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, swede (a little like turnip but not turnip), cauliflower, and another vegetable that John had never heard of before.
John spent the rest of the day watching a show called Zoo Days about the Chester Zoo. He enjoyed watching the treatment of a little lion cub called Tejas (TAY-JAS) who had been taken of since birth because his Mum had rejected him. Tejas had tendons on hus front legs that were too short to let him walk properly. They put a cast on his front feet and he did very well and didn't even chew off the casts. He is one of only 250 Asiatic lions in the world today. The show followed him from his birth through to growing up and it was the sweetest and happiest story and on this dreary day one that did John good. It was on Channel 5 and they had over four hours of the show on through the afternoon. Tejas has since joined a the breeding programme of a French Zoo.
John also packed for his trip to stay with his cousin Linda and see his Dad's side of the family next week. He is picked up at 12:00 noon tomorrow and after picking up the rental car, we drive to Essex. We will be adding to the blog when we can.
TRB
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Whitstable
Feb 6
John was up quite late - he had slept soundly until 7:30 or so. He got a cup of tea and went out to Val's living room. She came in a few minutes later. Alan had asked John if he wanted to go for a walk with the dogs down at Reculver but there was a problem with the back door of the four wheel drive vehicle so Sandra and Alan had decided to take a walk into Herne Bay with the dogs instead. John still wanted to go.
It was an interesting walk and the dogs had a great time. When they reached the town, Sandra and Alan put Rufus and Lara on leashes and although it was not necessary thay had a leash for Charlie and John was able to walk her. They had hoped to look into the Herne Bay Museum but it was closed until 10:00am and they would be long gone by then.
Alan suggested that they have breakfast and decided he would get each of the dogs a large, warm sausage roll as a special treat. Sandra had one as well. John and Alan had a sandwich, but Boy oh Boy what a sandwich! It was back bacon, with cream cheese and cranberries on English bread. Now Engish bread is like French bread but in a bigger size, just as crusty and just as delicious. The combination of flavours was superb.
They came back with plans to visit another seaside town, Whitstable in the afternoon. But the dogs were quite muddy from their free ramblings. John volunteered to clean Charlie, the smallest, while Alan and Sandra did the big dogs. Rufus and Lara started to horse around and Rufus left up when Sandra was cleaning him and his head hit into Sandra's causing a painful collision. Sandra said she was ok so John wnet back into Val's.
Gail and John had agreed to talk at 12:00 (7:00am in Canada) and she and John had a nice talk about many things.
Soon afterwards, it was time to set off for Whitstable. Sandra had a headache from the collision so, understandably, she decided to stay home.
Whitstable is a very cute little town as you will be able to see from the video below. The three first stopped at the harbour which is famous for its oysters. They bought some seafood (mussels, cockles, and prawns) and a pheasant. Then it was over to the oyster bar, where Alan bought them fresh oysters. The man shucked them and John and Alan ate them raw. It was only the second time in his life that John had eaten raw oysters. The first was when he was small child and the experience had turned him off. This time he really liked them. They were sooo fresh!
They walked around the town and stopped into the Duke of Cumberland pub for a drink. John and Alan had Red Lite beer, a locally brewed beer by the people who own the pub. Val had a coke.
After seeing the town they returned home to prepare for dinner. John wanted to take the family out to thank them for everything. He leaves on Monday to see the other side of his family.
They went to the same restaurant where Val and Les had taken the family the previous Sunday. They had a nice meal and all had a good time, a result of some great wit and exhilirating conversation. John said that he really felt good to say thank you in this small way for the many kindnesses he has received from his wonderful family.
After eating their fill, they all drove home to feed the dogs (who needed to eat too). And then it was time for another early night.
TRB
John was up quite late - he had slept soundly until 7:30 or so. He got a cup of tea and went out to Val's living room. She came in a few minutes later. Alan had asked John if he wanted to go for a walk with the dogs down at Reculver but there was a problem with the back door of the four wheel drive vehicle so Sandra and Alan had decided to take a walk into Herne Bay with the dogs instead. John still wanted to go.
It was an interesting walk and the dogs had a great time. When they reached the town, Sandra and Alan put Rufus and Lara on leashes and although it was not necessary thay had a leash for Charlie and John was able to walk her. They had hoped to look into the Herne Bay Museum but it was closed until 10:00am and they would be long gone by then.
Alan suggested that they have breakfast and decided he would get each of the dogs a large, warm sausage roll as a special treat. Sandra had one as well. John and Alan had a sandwich, but Boy oh Boy what a sandwich! It was back bacon, with cream cheese and cranberries on English bread. Now Engish bread is like French bread but in a bigger size, just as crusty and just as delicious. The combination of flavours was superb.
They came back with plans to visit another seaside town, Whitstable in the afternoon. But the dogs were quite muddy from their free ramblings. John volunteered to clean Charlie, the smallest, while Alan and Sandra did the big dogs. Rufus and Lara started to horse around and Rufus left up when Sandra was cleaning him and his head hit into Sandra's causing a painful collision. Sandra said she was ok so John wnet back into Val's.
Gail and John had agreed to talk at 12:00 (7:00am in Canada) and she and John had a nice talk about many things.
Soon afterwards, it was time to set off for Whitstable. Sandra had a headache from the collision so, understandably, she decided to stay home.
Whitstable is a very cute little town as you will be able to see from the video below. The three first stopped at the harbour which is famous for its oysters. They bought some seafood (mussels, cockles, and prawns) and a pheasant. Then it was over to the oyster bar, where Alan bought them fresh oysters. The man shucked them and John and Alan ate them raw. It was only the second time in his life that John had eaten raw oysters. The first was when he was small child and the experience had turned him off. This time he really liked them. They were sooo fresh!
They walked around the town and stopped into the Duke of Cumberland pub for a drink. John and Alan had Red Lite beer, a locally brewed beer by the people who own the pub. Val had a coke.
After seeing the town they returned home to prepare for dinner. John wanted to take the family out to thank them for everything. He leaves on Monday to see the other side of his family.
They went to the same restaurant where Val and Les had taken the family the previous Sunday. They had a nice meal and all had a good time, a result of some great wit and exhilirating conversation. John said that he really felt good to say thank you in this small way for the many kindnesses he has received from his wonderful family.
After eating their fill, they all drove home to feed the dogs (who needed to eat too). And then it was time for another early night.
TRB
Friday, February 5, 2010
Herne Bay
Feb 5
John has been able to experience 'living' in England this week. He has not set a frenzied pace that he did in many other parts of his trip but has been able to sit back and reflect on all the aspects of his life. It has been healing to be in the arms of his family because he has felt very alone in the past and this is so good for him.
Today, he and Val went for a walk into Herne Bay. It was a nice day weatherwise after some that have been less than good. The temperature reached 10, which is amazing for February. The sky had some cloud but had enough blue to make a handkerchief as his Mum used to say.
They walked down the seashore into town and walked around the streets. Herne Bay is a bustling little seaside town that has come across hard tiomes because of the global recession. There are many shops that have closed.
One shop they went into, was kind of an antique store that was absolutely packed with stuff. There was everything there from clothes to life-sized Santas you could put on your lawn. There were little figurines, toy soldiers, Toby mugs, Royal Douton etc of all types in cases. John was thrilled to see a Muffin the Mule, a TV character from his toddler years and one on which he had sat as a child. He even has the picture. One thing that John found fascinating was the display of chairs on the sides of the walls.
Next Val and John went into the Rook's Butchers and bought a leg of fresh (not frozen) New Zealand lamb for dinner.
Then, they took a different way back and saw the statue of Barnes Wallis, the inventor of the 'bouncing bomb.' This was a system in which bombers would fly very close to the surface of the water of a dam reservoir and drop bomba that would skip like stones on the surface. They did this so they would hit a dam at the exactly the right place to destroy it. The whole project was to break the electrical generating dams supplying the Nazi German factories in the Ruhr Valley. It was quite successful.
After arriving back, they went up to the village, got a hot chocolate and cake, and Val got some veggies for supper. The dinner itself was marvellous - the meat done to perfection, the broccoli, carrots, roast potatoes excellent. they ate a few chocolates for dessert.
John offered and was allowed to do the dishes afterwards.
TRB
John has been able to experience 'living' in England this week. He has not set a frenzied pace that he did in many other parts of his trip but has been able to sit back and reflect on all the aspects of his life. It has been healing to be in the arms of his family because he has felt very alone in the past and this is so good for him.
Today, he and Val went for a walk into Herne Bay. It was a nice day weatherwise after some that have been less than good. The temperature reached 10, which is amazing for February. The sky had some cloud but had enough blue to make a handkerchief as his Mum used to say.
They walked down the seashore into town and walked around the streets. Herne Bay is a bustling little seaside town that has come across hard tiomes because of the global recession. There are many shops that have closed.
One shop they went into, was kind of an antique store that was absolutely packed with stuff. There was everything there from clothes to life-sized Santas you could put on your lawn. There were little figurines, toy soldiers, Toby mugs, Royal Douton etc of all types in cases. John was thrilled to see a Muffin the Mule, a TV character from his toddler years and one on which he had sat as a child. He even has the picture. One thing that John found fascinating was the display of chairs on the sides of the walls.
Next Val and John went into the Rook's Butchers and bought a leg of fresh (not frozen) New Zealand lamb for dinner.
Then, they took a different way back and saw the statue of Barnes Wallis, the inventor of the 'bouncing bomb.' This was a system in which bombers would fly very close to the surface of the water of a dam reservoir and drop bomba that would skip like stones on the surface. They did this so they would hit a dam at the exactly the right place to destroy it. The whole project was to break the electrical generating dams supplying the Nazi German factories in the Ruhr Valley. It was quite successful.
After arriving back, they went up to the village, got a hot chocolate and cake, and Val got some veggies for supper. The dinner itself was marvellous - the meat done to perfection, the broccoli, carrots, roast potatoes excellent. they ate a few chocolates for dessert.
John offered and was allowed to do the dishes afterwards.
TRB
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Canterbury Museum
Feb 4
It was after 8am when John came to this morning. Life had started without him. People were up and doing thinhs while he was sleeping.
When he caame out, Val was reading in her living room. John said that he feels so good and so comfortable and he is sleeping so well.
He didn't have a lot on his genda today apart from arranging and reserving a rental car to take him to his Dad's family in Essex next week. Alan had wannted to loan John onw of his cars but his insurance could not cover anyone who did not have either a British or European driver's license.
John looked through the phone book and the Inrternet and came up with fve possible companies. Two of them didn't meet his needs and one had a bad number. He got two quotes and the second one met the other's price and agreed to pick him up and drop him off at Val's. So he booked it on the spot.
Sandra came in and asked Val and John if they wanted to go into Canterbury as Alan's flight lesson for 9am had been rescheduled for 2pm due to weather. John said he would get ready right away. It turned out that Sandra could get ready faster than John, a new experience for him.
They set off in Alan's Range Rover and went into the city. Alan and Sandra dropped them off in the shopping district. Since John did not expect any good shots in the rain he did not take the videocamera.
Canterbury's shopping district is a working area but it has many of the original Tudor-age buildings so it is extremely picturesque. The two looked for a Roman museum but it seemed closed. So, they visited the Museum of Canterbury (click here for the link).
It showed the considerable history of the city from the time of the Iron Age through the Celts, the Romans, the Anglo Saxons, the Normans, the Middle Ages, the Tudors, the Industrial Revolution, as far as the Blitz in World War 2. It was extensive and very interesting. So much so, that John left a favourable comment.
The museum even had a Rupert Bear museum. John's teddy bear was a Rupert Bear and he had a number of Rupert children's annuals that he loves to this day. So, he was delighted to see some Rupert memorabilia. Once again, John thought that he should have taken his camera.
After an extraordinary visit, they left and went to a coffee shop where John had a coke zero and Val a hot chocolate. Then they went back to the bus depot to get a bus back to the village.
Val went into the local flower shop and bought some flowers - John ordered some to be delivered to her tomorrow to thank her for all her kindness.
After arriving home, John went out to practice using the GPS that Alan has loaned to him for his drive and while outside saw Alan coming back from his flying lesson and they had a long talk about it. It was Alan's first landing and that is always a thrill!
Val had cooked a dinner of ham and chips, with peaches in brancy topped with cream for pudding. It was sooo delicious. They ended the day watching TV while I was left writing the blog.
TRB
It was after 8am when John came to this morning. Life had started without him. People were up and doing thinhs while he was sleeping.
When he caame out, Val was reading in her living room. John said that he feels so good and so comfortable and he is sleeping so well.
He didn't have a lot on his genda today apart from arranging and reserving a rental car to take him to his Dad's family in Essex next week. Alan had wannted to loan John onw of his cars but his insurance could not cover anyone who did not have either a British or European driver's license.
John looked through the phone book and the Inrternet and came up with fve possible companies. Two of them didn't meet his needs and one had a bad number. He got two quotes and the second one met the other's price and agreed to pick him up and drop him off at Val's. So he booked it on the spot.
Sandra came in and asked Val and John if they wanted to go into Canterbury as Alan's flight lesson for 9am had been rescheduled for 2pm due to weather. John said he would get ready right away. It turned out that Sandra could get ready faster than John, a new experience for him.
They set off in Alan's Range Rover and went into the city. Alan and Sandra dropped them off in the shopping district. Since John did not expect any good shots in the rain he did not take the videocamera.
Canterbury's shopping district is a working area but it has many of the original Tudor-age buildings so it is extremely picturesque. The two looked for a Roman museum but it seemed closed. So, they visited the Museum of Canterbury (click here for the link).
It showed the considerable history of the city from the time of the Iron Age through the Celts, the Romans, the Anglo Saxons, the Normans, the Middle Ages, the Tudors, the Industrial Revolution, as far as the Blitz in World War 2. It was extensive and very interesting. So much so, that John left a favourable comment.
The museum even had a Rupert Bear museum. John's teddy bear was a Rupert Bear and he had a number of Rupert children's annuals that he loves to this day. So, he was delighted to see some Rupert memorabilia. Once again, John thought that he should have taken his camera.
After an extraordinary visit, they left and went to a coffee shop where John had a coke zero and Val a hot chocolate. Then they went back to the bus depot to get a bus back to the village.
Val went into the local flower shop and bought some flowers - John ordered some to be delivered to her tomorrow to thank her for all her kindness.
After arriving home, John went out to practice using the GPS that Alan has loaned to him for his drive and while outside saw Alan coming back from his flying lesson and they had a long talk about it. It was Alan's first landing and that is always a thrill!
Val had cooked a dinner of ham and chips, with peaches in brancy topped with cream for pudding. It was sooo delicious. They ended the day watching TV while I was left writing the blog.
TRB
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Flying over Kent
Feb 3
John was awake early because this was to be the day he accompanied Alan on his first actual flying lesson over at Manston (Kent International Airport). Manston was an RAF fighter base in WW2 and was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe. So John considered it an honour to fly out of there.
The two arrived at 10am ready for the lesson at 10:30. Unfortunately, someone at the flight school had not told the flight instructor about the lesson and he had to come from home. John talked with one of the club members while Alan read a training book as they awaited the instructor.
The instructor arrived shortly before 11am and he took Alan in for a preflight briefing. When they came out the instructor said to John that he could wait inside while they did the walkaround. However, John wanted to see the walkaround because they were going in a four seater Piper Warrior which is a low wing airplane while John has only flown high wing Cessnas. So he went out with them.
He watched the walkaround and noticed te similarities and differences from the way he had been trained to do his walkarounds. Soon, it was time to get inside and buckled up. Alan took the pilot's seat and John found it surprisingly hard to be a passenger. Every ounce of his being wanted to take the controls. The instruments and controls were very nicely appointed in the aircraft but the back seat was not the most comfortable.
It wasn't long before they were taxiing out to the runway and taking off. The day was heavily overcast and that made it a very smooth ride indeed. They took off to the weat on runaway 28 and proceeded in a southweasterly direction.
Alan learned the effects of the controls - ailerons, elevators, and rudder at different airspeeds on bank, pitch, and yaw. He learned the secondary controls of engine level and flaps and the necessity of trimming the aircraft.
John took the video you can see here and at one point saw the white cliffs of Dover at a great distance. See if you can see them.
Too soon it was back to Manston and a l-o-n-g landing. They were at a great height over the threshhold but the instructor said that would take them back to the flight school better. John was very impressed by the knowledge, skill, and professional demeanour of the instructor.
They went back to the flight school where Alan made an appointment for his next lesson and paid for a series of five lessons so that he can tell if he wants to go the whole way through training to become a private pilot.
Unfortunately they were too late to go to lunch with Ron, so went home. John had hurt his back in the back seat of the plane and had to nurse it a bit.
After a short while he and Val went out to do a few errands in the ocal village. When they came back John went to sleep on the couch. It was gtime for sinner - chicken curry and John ended the day watching soccer on TV while I had to do this blog.
It was the end of another memorable day. John said he is very tempted to take up flying again.
TRB
John was awake early because this was to be the day he accompanied Alan on his first actual flying lesson over at Manston (Kent International Airport). Manston was an RAF fighter base in WW2 and was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe. So John considered it an honour to fly out of there.
The two arrived at 10am ready for the lesson at 10:30. Unfortunately, someone at the flight school had not told the flight instructor about the lesson and he had to come from home. John talked with one of the club members while Alan read a training book as they awaited the instructor.
The instructor arrived shortly before 11am and he took Alan in for a preflight briefing. When they came out the instructor said to John that he could wait inside while they did the walkaround. However, John wanted to see the walkaround because they were going in a four seater Piper Warrior which is a low wing airplane while John has only flown high wing Cessnas. So he went out with them.
He watched the walkaround and noticed te similarities and differences from the way he had been trained to do his walkarounds. Soon, it was time to get inside and buckled up. Alan took the pilot's seat and John found it surprisingly hard to be a passenger. Every ounce of his being wanted to take the controls. The instruments and controls were very nicely appointed in the aircraft but the back seat was not the most comfortable.
It wasn't long before they were taxiing out to the runway and taking off. The day was heavily overcast and that made it a very smooth ride indeed. They took off to the weat on runaway 28 and proceeded in a southweasterly direction.
Alan learned the effects of the controls - ailerons, elevators, and rudder at different airspeeds on bank, pitch, and yaw. He learned the secondary controls of engine level and flaps and the necessity of trimming the aircraft.
John took the video you can see here and at one point saw the white cliffs of Dover at a great distance. See if you can see them.
Too soon it was back to Manston and a l-o-n-g landing. They were at a great height over the threshhold but the instructor said that would take them back to the flight school better. John was very impressed by the knowledge, skill, and professional demeanour of the instructor.
They went back to the flight school where Alan made an appointment for his next lesson and paid for a series of five lessons so that he can tell if he wants to go the whole way through training to become a private pilot.
Unfortunately they were too late to go to lunch with Ron, so went home. John had hurt his back in the back seat of the plane and had to nurse it a bit.
After a short while he and Val went out to do a few errands in the ocal village. When they came back John went to sleep on the couch. It was gtime for sinner - chicken curry and John ended the day watching soccer on TV while I had to do this blog.
It was the end of another memorable day. John said he is very tempted to take up flying again.
TRB
A Peaceful Day
Feb 2
John didn't wake up until 8:30am this morning. He had been very tired the night before so he had gone to bed at 9:30pm even though he thought it was a bit early. Bit he had slep through.
Valerie was up and when he came out, she asked him if he was ready for breakfast. He was surprised but also delighted when it turned out to be a full cooked English breakfast: fried eggs, fried tomatoes, back bacon, and toast and tea. She apologised because she didn't have mushrooms but John said not to worry as this was plenty. Besides he had never quite understood mushrooms at breakfast anayway.
After breakfast he took a shower and decided to do some computer work. He had not backed up his movie files since being in Nanaimo so he got out his external hard drive and set it going. It said that it would take over an hour to transfer files from the laptop to the hard drive.
Val and he talked and watched a breakfast TV show. It was cool and rainy outside and neither he nor Val were keen on going out into it. When the backup was finished, John caught up on his email and started surfing the Net about aviation.
If the weather is good tomorrow, Alan is going to take his first flying lesson and the people at the flight school said that John, as a pilot visiting from Canada, can go along. Now, in Canada, that would be against flight training regulations and it might be so here in the UK. So, if they say that John cannot go along, he will understand and be happy to sit in the flight school talking to other pilots and reading avaiation magazines while Alan and the instructor are up in the air.
If he does, by luck, get to ride along, he will take his videocamera and bring back some shots over lovely Kent, the "Garden of England."
However, the weather forecast is looking grim - rain for the rest of the week, so John thinks it will only be an outside chance that they do go flying. But then, who knows, eh?
Later in the day Alan and Sandra invited their neighbours, Ron and Linda, to come over for dinner. John was very pleased to meet them as they are extremely nice people and they all had a typically English fun and laughter-filled evening. The meal of lamb shanks, with veggies was absolutely delicious. The 'pudding' (dessert) was apple pie with custard or homemade English trifle. John had both. But this was after having a beer. Now trifle usually has some sherry in it. But Sandra's trifle had a LOT of sherry in it. John started getting his words mixed up. What to do? Give him some Bailey's on ice, of course. John became very happy.
After Ron and Linda had left, John helped a tiny bit with the dishes (he dried a few glasses) then he crashed, happily thinking of the day to come.
TRB
John didn't wake up until 8:30am this morning. He had been very tired the night before so he had gone to bed at 9:30pm even though he thought it was a bit early. Bit he had slep through.
Valerie was up and when he came out, she asked him if he was ready for breakfast. He was surprised but also delighted when it turned out to be a full cooked English breakfast: fried eggs, fried tomatoes, back bacon, and toast and tea. She apologised because she didn't have mushrooms but John said not to worry as this was plenty. Besides he had never quite understood mushrooms at breakfast anayway.
After breakfast he took a shower and decided to do some computer work. He had not backed up his movie files since being in Nanaimo so he got out his external hard drive and set it going. It said that it would take over an hour to transfer files from the laptop to the hard drive.
Val and he talked and watched a breakfast TV show. It was cool and rainy outside and neither he nor Val were keen on going out into it. When the backup was finished, John caught up on his email and started surfing the Net about aviation.
If the weather is good tomorrow, Alan is going to take his first flying lesson and the people at the flight school said that John, as a pilot visiting from Canada, can go along. Now, in Canada, that would be against flight training regulations and it might be so here in the UK. So, if they say that John cannot go along, he will understand and be happy to sit in the flight school talking to other pilots and reading avaiation magazines while Alan and the instructor are up in the air.
If he does, by luck, get to ride along, he will take his videocamera and bring back some shots over lovely Kent, the "Garden of England."
However, the weather forecast is looking grim - rain for the rest of the week, so John thinks it will only be an outside chance that they do go flying. But then, who knows, eh?
Later in the day Alan and Sandra invited their neighbours, Ron and Linda, to come over for dinner. John was very pleased to meet them as they are extremely nice people and they all had a typically English fun and laughter-filled evening. The meal of lamb shanks, with veggies was absolutely delicious. The 'pudding' (dessert) was apple pie with custard or homemade English trifle. John had both. But this was after having a beer. Now trifle usually has some sherry in it. But Sandra's trifle had a LOT of sherry in it. John started getting his words mixed up. What to do? Give him some Bailey's on ice, of course. John became very happy.
After Ron and Linda had left, John helped a tiny bit with the dishes (he dried a few glasses) then he crashed, happily thinking of the day to come.
TRB
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